ABOUT THE APPALACHIAN WRITER IN RESIDENCE POSITION

The AWiR post is sponsored by Ashe County Public Library in partnership with On the Same Page. Each author chosen for this residency strives to portray contemporary Appalachia with nuance and authenticity in their work. The AWiR is an integral part of the festival, participating in a number of events spanning the entire week of the festival.

2023 Appalachian Writer in Residence: David Joy

David Joy is the author of When These Mountains Burn (winner of the 2020 Dashiell Hammett Award), The Line That Held Us (winner of the 2018 Southern Book Prize), The Weight of This World, and Where All Light Tends to Go (Edgar finalist for Best First Novel). His stories and creative nonfiction have appeared in a number of publications, and he is the author of the memoir Growing Gills: A Fly Fisherman’s Journey and a coeditor of Gather at the River: Twenty-Five Authors on Fishing. Joy lives in Tuckasegee, North Carolina.

As the Appalachian Writer in Residence David will participate in the following activites: 

• A two-part workshop open to the public at Ashe County Public Library
• A talk open to the public at Old Orchard Creek General Store
• A reading open to the public at Ashe County Public Library
• An educational program for Ashe County students